Obama Is a War Criminal: Holding the
President Accountable on Libya
09 June 2011
By Ron Paul
June 07, 2011 "Lew Rockwell" --- Last week, more than
70 days after President Obama sent our military to
attack Libya without a congressional declaration of
war, the House of Representatives finally voted on two
resolutions attempting to rein in the president. This
debate was long overdue, as polls show Americans
increasingly are frustrated by congressional inaction.
According to a CNN poll last week, 55 percent of the
American people believe that Congress, not the
president, should have the final authority to decide
whether the U.S. should continue its military mission
in Libya. Yet for more than 70 days Congress has
ignored its constitutional obligations and allowed the
president to usurp its authority.
Finally, Congressman Dennis Kucinich was able to bring
to the floor a resolution asserting that proper
constitutional war power authority resides with
Congress. His resolution simply stated that "Congress
directs the President to remove the United States
Armed Forces from Libya by not later than the date
that is 15 days after the date of the adoption of this
concurrent resolution."
Opponents of the withdrawal resolution said the 15-day
deadline was too abrupt. But as I pointed out during
debate, the president attacked Libya abruptly – he
didn't even bother to consult Congress – so why can't
he order an end to military action just as abruptly?
When members of Congress took an oath of office to
defend the Constitution, we did not pledge to defend
it only gradually, a little bit at a time. On the
contrary, we must defend it vigorously and completely
from the moment we take that oath. I was pleased that
87 Republicans were able to put the Constitution first
and support this resolution.
House Speaker John Boehner offered his own resolution
on the same day, which declared that Congress would
not support the insertion of US ground troops into
Libya. Although this unfortunately was far from
adequate to satisfy our constitutional obligations, it
certainly was a step in the right direction and I am
pleased that it passed in the House. Just days before
Speaker Boehner's resolution, an amendment to the
defense authorization act prohibited the president
from using any funds in the bill to insert US troops
into Libya. A separate amendment last week prohibiting
any funds appropriated to the Department of Homeland
Security from being used to attack Libya came within
just a handful of votes from passing. All of these
votes demonstrate that members of Congress
increasingly understand that our foreign wars are
deeply unpopular with their constituents. We are
broke, and the American people know it. They expect
Congress to focus on fixing America's economic
problems, rather than rubber stamping yet another
open-ended military intervention in Libya.
I believe these resolutions and amendments indicate
that the tide is turning in the right direction. I am
confident we will see Congress move toward ending our
unconstitutional wars. The American people are
demanding no less. The president's attack on Libya was
unconstitutional and thus unlawful. This policy must
be reversed.
Dr. Ron Paul is a Republican member of Congress
from Texas.
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